


A Soft Reunion

by alteridemlynch



Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Ronan Lynch Visits Adam Parrish at College/University, Secret Santa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-16
Updated: 2019-12-16
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:28:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21823678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alteridemlynch/pseuds/alteridemlynch
Summary: Despite being banned from the Harvard campus, Ronan Lynch had not been banned from all of Cambridge or the greater Boston area. So when Adam had a long weekend the spring of his freshman year, Ronan drove up on a Friday morning and got a hotel room a fifteen minute drive from campus and waited not-so-patiently for Adam to finish his last class of the day at 4:45.
Relationships: Ronan Lynch/Adam Parrish
Comments: 5
Kudos: 98





	A Soft Reunion

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is for the 2019 Pynch Secret Santa from pynchprompt week and written for squash1-squash2! Hope you enjoy :)

Despite being banned from the Harvard campus, Ronan Lynch had not been banned from all of Cambridge or the greater Boston area. So when Adam had a long weekend the spring of his freshman year, Ronan drove up on a Friday morning and got a hotel room a fifteen minute drive from campus and waited not-so-patiently for Adam to finish his last class of the day at 4:45.

At 5:02pm, there was a knock on the hotel door and Ronan almost tripped over his own two feet running to open it. It’d been three months since he had last seen Adam, and his body ached and twitched at the thought of being reunited. He took a deep breath, unusually nervous, and swung open the door.

Adam Parrish stood before him, lanky and bronzed and beautiful. He was dressed expertly in his usually Harvard-student-attire: deep forest sweater over a collared shirt, cuffed pants and shining shoes. Adam was a little fuller than he had been three months ago and his clothing fit a bit tighter, but in a healthy way. He looked nourished and well-rested and _good._ Ronan's heart warmed at the thought of Adam thriving here after the stress Ronan (and the potential end of the world) brought upon him last semester. 

"Hi," Adam said, smiling softly. His cheeks were still red from the cold outside. 

"Hi," Ronan said, every inch of him struggling not to portray his relief on his face. Adam was here, and they had the weekend together. He stepped forward and Adam mirrored him, closing the distance between the two of them swiftly and wrapping their arms around each other. His nose nestled in Adam's hair, he breathed in his scent, his warmth, his Adam-ness and tightened his arms around him. The hug said everything they didn't to say aloud: _I missed you_ and _I love you_ and _only a few more months till you're home for the summer._

Ronan pulled back a few inches to kiss him, softly, gently, something he'd been aching to do for months now. Adam was warm against him, his arms reaching up to tangle around his neck. He pulled back and pressed their foreheads together. 

"How was the drive?" Adam whispered

"Fine." 

"You hungry?" 

"I already ordered room service," Ronan smirked, pulling Adam in through the doorway.

"Thank God, I'm starving."

"God didn't have anything to do with ordering room service," Ronan teased, taking his hand and pulling him. Adam smiled, happily being dragged inside the room. 

As much as Ronan wanted to spend the entire night locked up in this hotel, it was Gillian's birthday, and Adam not only felt obligated to but also genuinely wanted to go to her party, which would start in about an hour. It wasn't a party, per se, but more of a gathering at another friend's apartment (thankfully off-campus) that would likely consist of wine and cheese and games and deep discussions. Not Ronan's scene by any means, but it was Adam's scene, and Ronan would gladly go anywhere that Adam was. 

So they had minimal time, and Ronan was not about to waste a minute of it. 

He led Adam to the bed and the two boys laid down facing each other on their sides. Ronan took Adam's hands in his and squeezed gently before bringing them up to his mouth. He pressed his lips carefully across each knuckle, kissing his favorite part of Adam's body with care (well, one of his favorite parts). When he was finished, Adam pressed one hand to the side of Ronan's face, gently running it up and down his cheek. "I needed this," he whispered, his eyes cast downward a bit, embarrassed. 

"I thought things were going well?" Ronan asked, now worried. 

"No, no, they are. They're great, actually. Really great," Adam explained. "But I always need this. You...I always need you, Ronan." 

Ronan felt like he was melting into the sheets of the bed, his whole body hot and liquid after hearing him say that. "I need you, too, Adam. I missed you so goddamn much, you know that," Ronan said. " _Tamquam_ \--"

_"Alter idem_ , I know," Adam smiled, pulling him closer, so they're wrapped around each other, arms and legs tangled together, noses in necks and hands in hair. "Can we just lie here? For a minute?" 

"Yeah, of course," Ronan said, grateful for his moment of vulnerability and his warm body against his. He relished in his hold, thinking of no better place to be. 

\--------------

They laid like that for some time, cuddling together, pressing gentle kisses on foreheads, cheeks, noses, eyelids, wherever they can every few moments. Their reunions were usually more intense--fast and almost aggressive, neither one of them able to fully control their bodies and wants and desires and needs. But this reunion was soft and gentle, tender and slow, full of love and care and the feeling of _finally._

A knock on the door surprised them both, making Adam shake a little, torn out of their trance. Ronan stood up, almost regretfully, and let the bellhop in. He left a large tray of food for them on the table and, after thanking him and leading him out, Ronan brought the tray to the bed. 

"Were you expecting more people?" Adam joked, staring at the multiple covered plates of food. 

Ronan shrugged. "I didn't know what you wanted but didn't want to waste time, so I got a bit of everything." He might have gone a little overboard, but he didn't care. 

"Thank you," Adam said, leaning across the tray and pressing a gentle kiss on his forehead. "One can only eat so many dining hall meals without going insane." Ronan chuckled, unveiling a burger and fries under the first cover. They uncover the rest--a personal pizza, salad, grilled cheese, and spaghetti--and feast upon the hotel meal, which is surprisingly tasty, if not overpriced and generic. 

"You trying to fatten me up, Lynch?" Adam joked, licking gooey cheese off of his finger. 

"I don't know, I kind of like the pudgy look on you," Ronan smirked, chewing on the crust of a pizza. "Makes you more like a pillow." 

"Is that so?" Adam quirked one eyebrow upwards.

"Yeah, I'm trying to improve your cuddling skills." 

"Are you saying my cuddling skills are sub-par?" Adam asked, raising his eyebrows in fake-offense. 

Ronan got up on his knees to reach across their feast and kissed his neck softly before whispering in his hearing ear, "I wouldn't dare." 

Adam tilted his face to catch his lips in his own, and the two kissed, hovering over a mess of food scraps and half-eaten plates, before gently pulling apart. "We should get going." 

Ronan nodded, not wanting to leave, or to share Adam with the rest of the world, but stood up anyways. He loaded the dirty plates onto the tray and left it outside their door, holding it open for Adam before leaving the hotel and heading to the party. 

\---------------

At the party, Ronan kept mostly quiet. He followed Adam around like a lapdog (which he didn't mind acting like) and made short conversations with people. Fletcher talked for an absurd amount of time to him, and Gillian was "honored" that Ronan had come in town for her birthday (which he definitely hadn't, but politely didn't disagree with). Benjy politely said hi to him but mostly avoided him, and Eliot seemed genuinely pleased to see him. Ronan didn't necessarily enjoy the party, but he didn't _not_ enjoy it: it was always satisfying to see Adam so in his element. At Harvard, he came alive, he _shined,_ something he hadn't fully been allowed to do in Henrietta. 

"Hey, Joan, is it okay if we go upstairs?" Adam asked after about an hour or so to a tall blonde girl with blue glasses: the owner of the apartment, host of the party, and Gillian's long-term friend. 

"Yeah, sure, just don't lock yourself out again," she smiled, poking him in the shoulder. 

"Ha, I'll be careful. Thanks, we'll be back soon," Adam said to no one in particular, just the general crowd. Ronan gave him a questioning look, to which he just smiled back at, keeping him in suspense. 

He was grateful to leave the party, though -- the room was stuffy and warm and filled with way too many people that Ronan didn't know or necessarily want to know. The hallway was quieter and cooler, a much needed relief. 

Adam dragged him to the stairway at the end of the hall and lead him upstairs. Ronan didn't really know what was going on -- maybe another friend lived on the next floor? -- until Adam pushed open the door at the top of the stairs and revealed the cool night sky. 

"I thought you might want a break," Adam said, his arms spread wide. The rooftop was nice, complete with some couches and lounge chairs. The best part, though, was that no one else was here. It was just the two of them, blissfully alone. 

"From them, yes," Ronan agreed, pulling Adam down onto one of the couches and curling into him, their bodies intertwining naturally once again. "From you, never." 

Adam hummed in appreciation, his head resting on Ronan's chest. It was cold outside but, with their bodies pressed together, neither of them minded that much. "This is gonna sound cheesy, but, umm, sometimes, when I really miss you, I like to look at the stars," he admitted. Ronan didn't respond, just waiting, knowing that Adam would say more when he was ready. "It makes me think of the Barns, and last summer, and just...being with you. All those nights outside in the grass...I don't know," he mumbled. 

"I know," Ronan responded, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. "I know, Adam." 

They didn't say anything more--they didn't have to. They just laid their together, in silence, like they had just hours earlier, embracing each other's warmth on the cool night. They watched the stars, bright and shining in the clear air above them, and breathed in sync. Adam drifted to sleep briefly, and Ronan stroked his back softly as he rested. The party continued on below them, but it didn't matter. 

This was better, infinitely better. 

\------------

About a half hour later, Joan came up to check on them. They were still intertwined together, Adam half-asleep, Ronan playing with his hair. "You two okay?" 

"Yeah, we're fine," Adam says, pulling apart to sit upwards and stretching his arms out a bit. "Just enjoying the quiet." 

"Okay, wanted to check you didn't lock yourself out despite my warning," she laughs. "We're about to sing Happy Birthday and cut the cake if you two want to come back down?" 

"Yeah, we'll be there in a second," Adam says. She smiles and closes the door again. He turned to look at Ronan, sliding a hand across the buzzed hair on his head. "You feeling okay to go back down and join civilization, Lynch?" 

"Yeah, I'm good," Ronan agreed, smiling and leaning into his touch. "Plus I want cake." 

"How are you still hungry after all that room service?" 

"How are you _not_ hungry when talking about cake?" Ronan quipped.

"Fair point," Adam laughed, his eyes alight and his mouth wide. Ronan loved the carefree, joyous look on his face. "Come on, let's get some cake and then go home. I'm eager to test out the hotel bed," he added seductively, winking at Ronan. Ronan practically jumped off of the couch, now more excited about getting home than eating cake, and followed him. 

Adam opened the rooftop doorway and held it open for Ronan. Instead of just walking through it, Ronan pressed Adam against the open doorway and kissed him, quickly but passionately. "I'm so happy I'm here with you," he whispered against his lips. 

"I'm happier," Adam breathed. He kissed him this time, his hand pulling at Ronan's tank top to bring him in close. "But I'll be even happier with cake in my mouth." 

Ronan gave him a light smack and the two boys laughed, fingers twining together as they climbed downstairs. 


End file.
